The present invention generally relates to corrals of the type designed to collect shopping carts.
Shopping carts are currently provided by numerous retailers for their customers"" use. Typically, customers use the carts to collect the merchandise they wish to purchase and, after purchasing the items, roll the cart into the parking lot to their automobile to unload. After unloading, many users do not wish to walk back to the store to return the cart. However, leaving carts in the parking lot presents numerous well known disadvantages. One approach to solving this problem has been for retailers to provide cart corrals at various locations in the parking lot. These cart corrals typically consist of bent metal poles assembled to define a retention area for the shopping carts. A user pushes the shopping cart into the corral where it nests with other shopping carts and is retained until retrieved by store personnel. While currently available cart corrals function well, they have several disadvantages. Most available cart corrals are made from very long pieces of galvanized metal tubing which are bent to a desired shape. Transportation of these large pieces of tubing presents a challenge. Also, most cart corrals are not aesthetically pleasing, as they are available only in the gray color associated with galvanized metal. Some cart corrals are painted to give them a colorful appearance. However, due to constant banging by carts, the paint often becomes chipped and the appearance of the cart corral becomes unacceptable. Carts may also become dirty or wet while retained in a cart corral located in an open parking lot. Some cart corrals include a roof to shelter the carts. However, these covered cart corrals, like uncovered cart corrals, typically include very large members that are bent to shape and may not be disassembled into smaller sizes. Therefore, transportation and setup remain difficult. In light of the above, there is a need for improved cart corrals, especially those with a roof to shelter the carts.
The present invention provides an improved cart corral to receive shopping carts in a parking lot. The cart corral is designed to support a roof and, in some embodiments, may include the roof as part of the invention. The cart corral includes four spaced apart vertical posts that may be identified as a left front corner post, a right front corner post, a left rear corner post, and a right rear corner post. Each of the posts has a substantially equal height and has an outside diameter. Each of the posts has a lower end designed to contact the support surface and an upper end designed to support the roof. Replaceable polymerized sheathing surrounds each of the posts. The sheathing has an inner diameter equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the posts, and the sheathing extends substantially the entire height of the posts. A first horizontal rail extends between the left rear and right rear corner posts and releasably engages the posts between their upper and lower ends. A second horizontal rail extends between the right rear and right front corner posts and releasably engages the posts between their upper and lower ends. A third horizontal rail extends between the left rear and left front corner posts and releasably engages the posts between their upper and lower ends. Each of the horizontal rails has an outer diameter and a length. Replaceable polymerized sheathing surrounds each of the horizontal rails. The sheathing has an inner diameter equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the horizontal rails and extends substantially the entire length of the horizontal rails.